Monthly Archives: November 2017

My father was in the Marine Corps for 20 years, which means that I spent my childhood moving from military base to military base.

When I hit junior high, my dad retired from the Marines and moved back home to Idaho, to the tiniest damn town you’ve never heard of, with a population of 200. We had more cows in this town than people, by a long shot.

I hated it there.

Hated

It

I didn’t fit in; my classmates teased and bullied me to within an inch of my life.

Literally.

I finally broke and quit school one day. I went up to the school secretary, Charlie, who’d graduated from this same school 30 years earlier in the same graduating class as my father (a graduating class of five, I might add), and I told her that I was quitting school. Either my parents would get me into a new school, or I would homeschool, but I was never coming back to this school again.

Charlie took a long look at me and finally said quietly, “Okay.” She didn’t call the cops and tell them that I was a truant sophomore; she just let me walk out the front door. (Which goes to show that there are some positives to small-town living).

I never returned. I ended up getting into another school 45 minutes away, and spent the next three years of my life commuting 45 minutes each way to school so I could graduate from a school that didn’t slowly torture me into insanity.

When I sat down to write the McLain sisters’ stories, I wanted to show what that was like – to be pushed around and bullied until you simply break, because you have no choice.

And then you get up and you keep going, because you have no choice.

In many ways, Ivy McLain is nothing like me. She’s an artist; I’m lucky to draw a decent stick figure. She moved to the big city; I never really did (I don’t like traffic and honking, what can I say?) She hates snow and the cold; I like it. (I’m weird, there’s no doubt about it). She can ice skate beautifully; I am lucky not to kill myself or break an extremity when I’m dumb enough to actually get onto the ice.

But in some ways, Ivy is more like me than any other person I’ve ever written.

I hope you read and love this story as much as I loved writing it.

Next stop: Pain and heartache, coming right up…

Ivy McLain’s grand scheme of making it big? Yeah, it’s going nowhere fast. Every day, her dreams of a fabulous art career are fading a little more. And just when she didn’t believe things could get any worse, her parents plan their huge 40th anniversary party. In December. In cold, snowy Podunk, Idaho. It’s been five years since Ivy’s stepped foot in her hometown, and that was on purpose, thankyouverymuch. The oversized wide spot in the road holds nothing but truly awful memories for her. All right, fine. She’s stuck having to return, and she’s stuck playing the part of a dutiful daughter, but that doesn’t mean she has to like it. All of that changes the moment she meets a rugged cowboy with a slow and sexy smile. Okay, bowls him over and spills his drink everywhere. Details, details…

Up next: A girl to tear your heart apart…

Austin Bishop is hiding from the world in the small, mountain town of Sawyer, Idaho. Okay, maybe not from the world, but definitely from the females of the world. It isn’t that he thinks they have cooties. After all, he’d had a childhood sweetheart who he’d loved with all of his heart and soul for five years…right up until she dumped him. Receiving her engagement ring in the mail wasn’t exactly the Christmas present he’d been hoping for that year. That’s all behind him, though. He is girl-free, and thrilled to be that way. Never better. Couldn’t be happier, actually. All the way up until he runs, quite literally, into the most beautiful, curvy redhead he’s ever seen in his life. Suddenly, canoodling under the mistletoe seems like the best Christmas activity this side of eating homemade snickerdoodles. A fling with no strings attached? There’s no better way to celebrate the holidays. Except, partway through the twelve days of Christmas, it stops being a fling and starts feeling like a whole lot more. But Ivy is hiding secrets, and so is he.

When their secrets unravel, can their relationship last? Or will their Christmas romance fizzle once the eggnog runs out?

Christmas of Love is the fifth novella in the Long Valley world, although all books in the Long Valley world can be read as standalones.

Whenever Jasmine the Writing Cat does this stare thing straight at me, I always imagine her saying, “You will love meeeeee…” in a hypnotic voice, while swishing her tail slowly.

I’m pretty sure I was hypnotized a long time ago.

ANYway, I don’t know about you guys, but damn, it’s become windy here! It’s always this way in the fall – Idaho decides in the spring and fall that tear-the-shingles-off-your-house winds are just the way to celebrate a new season arriving. I’m not sure if I agree with this viewpoint, but I’ve tried holding up my hand to stave off the wind, and thus far, have had no luck. I’ll keep you guys posted on that front.

In the meanwhile, I’ve been hard at work on several different projects, and I can even tell you guys about a couple of them today! How is that for thrilling?

First, let’s discuss the featured bundle for the week – Laughing P Collection by Kari Holloway. It’s three novels plus some short stories, all on sale for only $4.99, which is a hell of a good deal. Check out the deets:

Southern Charm & Small-Town Secrets

Cracked But Never Broken Coming home should have been easy for Marine Damien Payne, but between rustlers, a stalker, and his personal demons, love is hard pressed to find a footing on the Laughing P ranch.

Behind the Lens Lexi’s found freedom from a loveless relationship. Trapped in a hunting cabin with her first love, can she find the courage to follow her heart or will she sacrifice her happiness?

Never too Late Darien Payne has regretted the moment he screwed up for over a decade. Forged under sweat and sawdust, he sets a plan in motion for his happily-ever-after. Burdened with the brevity of life, he must step up on the Laughing P to keep his family together in their darkest moments for the glimmer of light that always shines.

Join the Laughing P crew from the bottoms of despair to their happily-ever-afters and beyond in this collection featuring all three novels and a handful of short stories.

{Only available on Amazon – sorry to everyone else!}

Next up? Gift cards! Everyone likes being a winner. ?

I’ve been linking to a survey on SurveyMonkey for the past month, encouraging people to give me their thoughts on a variety of topics. I have been drawing people from that survey as winners, and announcing them in my newsletter.

Here’s the bad news: The last three people that I chose and announced as winners in my newsletter haven’t bothered to open my emails to find out that they’d won. So! Don’t be that person. ? If I say I’m only going to announce winners in my emails so you have to read ’em to find out if you’re the lucky duck for that week, I really mean it! ?

So here’s my gift card winners for this week – you’ve each won a $10 gift card to the storefront of your choice, if you respond back to my newsletter to claim your prize. Here goes:

[Name redacted]

[Name redacted]

[Name redacted]

Hit reply to the email in your inbox, and tell me which storefront you want your gift card for, and which country you live in (because that will sometimes play a part in the gift card process).

So you know how I said I’ve been hard at work on some projects? Here’s one of them. You guys are gonna go crazy over this.

My friend Joanna Bell and I have gotten together to do a wild-ass giveaway, only available to our subscribers. You won’t find this giveaway on Facebook or Twitter or anywhere else, and you can’t get extra chances to win by sharing it, because it’s exclusive only to our readers.

The prizes? Chanel perfume with gold flecks in it or a Coach wallet.

Insane, right? When Joanna suggested that we give these items away, I may or may not have swooned a little.

Again, the deets for this giveaway are only available in my newsletter, so if you haven’t subscribed yet, do it today! It’s where all the fun is. ?